BENEO buys shares in German start-up to get close to the consumer

BENEO, one of the leading manufacturers of functional ingredients, has announced it is taking a 14% stake in German business, Grillido, to get to know consumer preferences for plant-based meat solutions even better. Investing in Grillido, a start-up for hybrid, vegetarian, and vegan products, marks the next step in BENEO´s plant-based protein strategy.

With the market for fish and meat alternatives forecast to rise by 10% CAGR over the next five years (i), this latest investment will give BENEO direct access to consumer needs, allowing it to continuously improve its plant-based protein solutions for meat alternatives.

Located in Munich, Germany, Grillido is a company focused on the development, production, marketing, and distribution of meat replacement and meat alternative products, as well as other products linked to BBQ foods. Its e-commerce platform enables Grillido to receive consumer insights from multi-channel sales. BENEO will therefore have faster and direct access to consumer feedback to gain valuable information about their plant-based preferences and needs. By tapping into Grillido´s consumer understanding and culinary knowledge, BENEO will be able to move more quickly with the development of its existing product solutions for the plant-based market, as well as new products and innovations.

Dominic Speleers, member - executive board, BENEO, comments, “Moving closer to the consumer and having faster and direct feedback from the market on our solutions and products is a crucial advantage for BENEO as a B2B company. This way, we can further improve our solutions for the plant-based meat alternative market and make an important step forward in our plant-based protein roadmap.”

Grillido has around 30 employees. Next to e-commerce, its multi-channel sales approach also covers retail and food service sales.